Fix It Up - Mary Calmes Page 0,30
Next you’re gonna tell me you know Nashville.”
He shrugged. “I was raised in Kentucky, after all.”
Stig shook his head and clapped Nick on the shoulder. “Show us your light, Nicky, we’re all waitin’.”
Nick lifted his arms, and Stig stepped in and hugged him tight, and then they separated and Stig rounded on me, offering his hand.
“Stig Malloy,” he said as we shook.
“Yessir, I know,” I replied, a little starstruck. “I’m a big fan.”
He nodded. “You keep takin’ care of him. He looks great.”
“Oh no,” I countered, wanting to make sure that he knew it was all Nick. “He’s driven his own recovery.”
“But having someone there with you, that promise of the happily ever after and all that.” He shrugged, grinning at me. “That’s how I made it through, knowing my wife was there on the other side if I could just make it to her.”
Wait. Was he thinking what I thought he was?
I turned to Nick, Stig Malloy still holding my hand.
Nick moved up beside me, smiling nervously, and Stig let my hand go and gave Nick a quick bicep squeeze.
“I hope you know, Nicky, you can bring your guy with you. It’s not a problem at all.”
“Sir,” I began, needing to clear everything up, “I’m just his—”
“Thank you,” Nick said quickly, shutting me up.
“I mean, when you sing and you can’t take your eyes off someone,” Stig said, grinning, “that’s the truth right there, ain’t it?” he finished, giving Nick a nod before turning to speak to some other guests, leaving the two of us to stand there in silence.
Thankfully there were more people wanting to take pictures with Nick, and I ducked away so they could reach him.
Keeping him in my line of vision, I drifted in his periphery and ended up trailing behind as he walked back up toward the house. Once there, we were separated by more people, but because this wasn’t a public event, and these were invited guests, just like he was, I kept an eye on him but wasn’t worried, though I was slowly closing the gap.
He turned a corner, and when I reached the same spot moments later, I saw that Tanner had his hand splayed on Nick’s chest and was holding him up against the wall. It wouldn’t have been a big deal, I knew Nick could defend himself, and Felix, his personal trainer, a fourth dan black belt in Hapkido, had begun teaching him some basics. My issue was that there were, I could see from where I was standing, three other guys with him. And they could have just been milling around, waiting to see what Nick would do, but they weren’t helping, either.
Cutting through the crowd, I was close enough that when Tanner snarled at him, leaning in close to his face, I heard every word.
“Why did you have to take my guitar and play, just to impress that guy?”
“You’re making a mistake,” Nick told him, which answered my question, if I’d even entertained such a ridiculous notion that he’d been jealous of me listening to Tanner.
“Can you just not—”
“Step back,” I ordered loudly, striding forward, shoving the men out of my way until I reached Nick, grabbing Tanner by the throat and pinning him to the wall.
Both hands were on my wrist instantly, clawing and desperate to pry my fingers open, his eyes gone feral as he struggled to escape.
“Never, ever touch Nick Madison again. You feel me?”
“Yes,” he croaked out. “Absolutely. No question.”
I let go and he slid down the wall, crumpling to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
“I told you, you were making a mistake,” Nick said to Tanner as I took hold of his bicep and led him back down the hall toward the front door.
People tried to talk to Nick, but I was moving too fast by then, and I had him outside at the valet station in moments. I gave the guy the ticket—I’d never been to a “small get-together” that had a parking service—and stood in front of Nick, hoping that I wasn’t going to need to draw my gun from the holster on my ankle.
“I knew you were close,” he said after a moment.
“What?” I asked, not turning to look at him.
He leaned into me then, from behind, pressing his forehead between my shoulders. “It was a mistake for that guy to ever put his hands on me.”
“Yes,” I agreed, seeing other people starting toward us and not liking that they noticed him, who he was.
“But he